CULTIVATION. 17 



to those on which, if nothing is put, nothing will be 

 harvested. Whoever undertakes the cultivation of 

 Broom-corn on an exhausted soil will make a great mis- 

 take if he follows directions given for localities where no 

 field crops are manured, and expects that this demands any 

 less from the soil than the other crops he has been accus- 

 tomed to raise. 



HILLS OR DRILLS. As with Indian corn, some still 

 adhere to the old method of cultivating in hills, so some 

 still follow the same in growing Broom-corn, but the 

 large cultivators sow it altogether in rows ; the only rea- 

 son for hill culture is, that very weedy land can be 

 worked both ways ; but this is just the kind of land upon 

 which Broom-corn should not be sown at all. Those who 

 sow in hills mark out the land 3 * 3 or 3x4 feet, with a 

 corn marker, and scatter a dozen or more seeds, some 

 using a teaspoonful about 40 or 50 seeds where the 

 marks cross one another ; when the plants are up, they 

 are thinned to leave 5 to 10 of the thriftiest in the hill. 



In planting in rows, the distance apart is governed by 

 the character of the soil, the variety of the plant, and the 

 quality of brush desired. Thick planting gives a fine 

 and tough brush, but if the plants are too close it will be 

 too slender. The rows vary from 28 inches to 4 feet 

 apart, 3'| 2 feet being the usual distance for the tallest va- 

 rieties on good land. It is usual to run the rows north 

 and south in order that the sun may reach the plants 

 more uniformly. In planting by hand, the rows are 

 marked out by a small plow turning a shallow furrow, 

 and the seed dropped about 2 inches apart, in a contin- 

 uous row, or 6 to 10 seeds are dropped at intervals of 15 

 to 18 inches ; some drop several seeds at intervals of 3 

 feet, when it becomes the same as hill planting. 



In large fields hand-planting is too slow and costly, 

 and planters or seed-drills are used. Where the amount 

 to be sown is not very large, one of the several garden- 



